


Replacements

by secooper87



Series: The Child of Balime [27]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-26
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:50:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1051123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secooper87/pseuds/secooper87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dawn finally gets a taste of real power.  But at what cost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"October 1st!" shouted Seo, as she passed the newsstand. It was the distant future, on an alien world, but it was, apparently, still October 1st. "My birthday! Happy birthday to me!"

Dawn tried to hide a giggle. "I don't know how birthdays work with time travel," she said, "but I'm pretty sure landing on any random October 1st doesn't make you automatically a year older."

"Why not?" said Seo. Her eyes wide. "I think it's brilliant! That way, if I want to stay young, I just have to avoid landing on October 1st. And if I want to get old and wise a little faster, I can skip to every single October 1st out there!"

That was one way of doing things.

Seo beamed. "Any rate!" she said. "If we go with my plan, and call this my 101st birthday, then we can sing and party and have cake! That's definitely worth while."

"I guess I can't really argue with an excuse to party, even if…" Dawn stopped. Frowned. "Wait, hundred… _and_ _first_? I thought you were 99."

Seo froze. "I mean… my hundredth birthday."

Uh… huh…

Dawn had to give Seo one thing, though. This was the kind of planet that did seem like a _great_ place to have a party.

Everyone was happy, the sun was shining, and apparently there was this super-awesome Emperor that everyone loved, who'd made their empire span across most of the globe and have unknown wealth and prosperity. The merchants could afford to give away things to people they liked. And, since all the men thought Dawn and Seo were serious hotties, that meant they got a _lot_ of free stuff.

Which Dawn thought was kind of super-mega-awesome.

So they wandered around the marketplace, for a while, being beautiful and getting free stuff, while listening to people praising the Emperor to the heavens, whilst trying to chat them up.

"Free wine for the two goddesses of beauty!" one of the locals cried, offering them a glass.

Dawn blushed.

Seo just turned and ran away.

Which made Dawn have to go chasing after her, and then stop her, and then hear her go on about how she didn't want to be a part hell goddess… because being called a goddess wasn't a compliment to her, it was just a fact, and…

Seriously?

This, again?!

"Look, I know you're upset, but… could you please stop with the freaking-out-over-being-part-goddess thing?" Dawn said. "It's… just… you know. Show-offy."

Seo stared at Dawn. In almost horror. "Show-offy?!"

"Well… yeah. I mean, it's just…" Dawn struggled to grasp for words. "Look, I know you're mega powerful. And super smart. And indestructible and undefeatable, and you're going to grow up to be all legendary and stuff, but… just… you don't have to always dwell on it."

Seo shook her head. "I don't understand."

"You don't, huh?" said Dawn. She felt something bitter rising up inside of her, and she couldn't snap it back fast enough. "Okay. Let me explain it better. You've got no experience, but you just blunder in and fix everything and wind up being the person who thinks up a plan and saves the day — because you're some kind of crazy super person, who's going to be remembered and known throughout the universe, someday, as an indestructible force for good." She put her hands on her hips. "That's you. And then there are us non-super-powered people, who aren't part-hell-goddesses and can't do math in their head and can't just…"

"Are you jealous of me?" Seo asked.

Dawn blinked.

Damn.

She was.

That was a horrible thing for an aunt to do to her niece!

"No," Dawn insisted. "No, I'm not… look, just forget it. You're the superhero version of me, who was actually born and didn't have her whole personality wind up being based on 14 years of made up memories, and… that's cool. Totally cool."

"I… got memory-altered into existence, too," Seo said, quietly.

"It's not the same," said Dawn.

And they both knew it. Seo might be from an alternate timeline, edited out of the universe, but the memories the Monks had altered, in her timeline, were of the family around her. Not her own memories.

The first year of Seo's life might have been edited out of the universe. But in some alternate timeline, it did actually happen. It was _real_.

Dawn's childhood was never real. Not in any alternate reality, alternate timeline, or anything. It was just fake. Fabricated. Made-up.

Her whole personality was built on made-up memories.

"I'm sorry if you don't like the way I was born," Seo said. She fidgeted. "I… could… pretend I was born differently and lie to everyone until it seems like the truth."

Dawn sighed, and forced herself to let this drop. Seo was such a sweet kid! She totally didn't deserve to take the brunt of Dawn's never-really-got-addressed existential insecurities.

Dawn put an arm around Seo's shoulders, and gave her a half-hug. "No," she said, firmly. "Seriously. I'm cool with it." She sighed, as they continued to make their way down the street. "I'm sure you went through your own stuff with Glory. Even though… you were a baby and couldn't actually remember any of it."

God, Seo had no idea just how lucky she was! Did she have any idea just how much Dawn wanted to be a super-powerful, defend-the-universe, defeat-any-evil kind of person?

No. Bad Dawn! No jealousy.

Just supportiveness and being-good-to-your-nieceness, and stuff like that.

"Sorry," said Dawn, cursing herself out inside her head for being such a stupid idiot and hurting Seo's feelings. "I'm going to stop with the bitter thing. You're sweet and wonderful and a pretty cool person. And I love you just the way you are."

Seo nodded.

But kept her eyes fixed down on the ground.

As something passed across her. An… almost… terrified, horrible look. Like she'd been when Dawn had pointed out to her that she was only a hundred years old.

Their little family-drama thing was cut off, though, as the crowd around them exploded into enthusiasm and rejoicing and happiness, as everyone gathered around the street. All shouting out about how much they loved the Emperor, and the Emperor was coming, bringer of the Golden Age, and long live the Emperor! Streamers were thrown and flowers tossed at the elaborate flying hovercar parading down the street.

A man, regally attired, with blond hair parted in the middle, stood in the hovercar. Waving at his people. Soaking in their adoration and love.

Seo stepped away from Dawn. Looking out at the crowd, her eyes fixing on a spot in the distance. Her face bent into a deep frown, as she squinted.

The hovercar stopped, just in front of them. "My people!" the Emperor shouted out. Hands raised. "I've given you glory and riches and happiness! A golden age of peace and prosperity."

Everyone cheered, shouting their adoration.

"And I ask only one thing, in return," the Emperor said. "That you all remember me, for what I've done. Let my legacy live on forever!"

More exuberant cheering, the crowd's enthusiasm masking the chaos caused by Seo, who'd just grabbed up a bronze plate from a nearby merchant's stall, and had begun racing forwards.

The merchant, seeing her, shouted, "Stop, thief!" but the noise was drowned out by the cheering. The merchant surged forwards, trying to grab Seo back, while she ducked and dodged and pushed her way through the crowd.

Damn.

Whatever Seo was doing had to be good, so… Dawn raced out and tackled the merchant, desperate to stop him, so she could give Seo enough time to finish doing... whatever she was doing…

From the rooftop of a tall building, nearby, an energy beam shot out towards the Emperor. Perfect aim to hit him right in the chest.

Seo leapt forwards, thrusting the metal plate in the way of the beam, so it reflected off the metallic surface and discharged, harmlessly, into the air.

"Ow," Seo moaned, as the plate dropped to the ground, still smoking and sizzling from the intense energy and heat generated by the shot. She shook out her fingers, all singed and burned. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Dawn raced up to the hovercar, scrambling to Seo, trying to make sure she was all right. Shouting at all the security guards pulling her away that she was Seo's aunt, and she was looking after her!

"It's all right," said the Emperor. "She clearly shows fondness for the girl. Let her approach."

Then turned to the fallen Seo, trying to pick herself up from the ground where she'd toppled, just in front of the hovercar. Dawn helping her to her feet, checking over her injuries.

"You, dear lady, are a hero," said the Emperor. He bowed to her. "I owe you my life. And a hero's reward!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered, as security guards hustled Seo and Dawn into a following hovercar, which was heading towards the palace.

Then the Emperor turned to one of his security men. "Get the assassin," he commanded, in a voice too low for any others to hear. "Bring him back to me at the palace. We'll see how long it takes this time."


	2. Chapter 2

The assassin was a ragged-looking, scruffy man, with sunken eyes and unwashed hair. He was well-toned, muscular, with a warrior's stance. But poor nutrition and rough-living had taken their toll. He stumbled into the room, was thrown in front of the Emperor, forced to his knees.

"So, you again," said the Emperor. He tsked, shaking his head. "Every single time, it always winds up being you. Still — this time, it took you three months before you renewed your assassination attempts." He grinned. "Must be a sign I'm getting stronger."

The man spat in his face.

The security forces struck the man down, and the action seemed to thoroughly pain the man. Pain him beyond imagining.

"I am the Grand Emperor Adam, Defender of the Seas, Conqueror of Iltoro, Restorer of the Divine Light, the one who ended the Feltoid Wars single-handedly," said the Emperor. "Accept that."

"Never," growled the man.

The Emperor sighed. "I can't kill you, of course," he said. "Your skills might come in handy. But since you continue to make a menace of yourself, I see no other choice but to—"

"General Crathdor," the man said to the general standing at the Emperor's right. The man was on his knees, pleading with the general. "Crathdor, who dragged me from the mud at the Battle of Yonzi and said you would die in my place. Surely you must remember me!"

General Crathdor looked away in disgust. "The man's a lunatic."

"And you, Sergeant Unmadeer," said the man, turning to the security man holding him down by the shoulder. "You led the charge at sea against the Verotil fleets. I gave you an honor for bravery, and you promised to serve me forever!"

"I've never seen you before in my life," said Sergeant Unmadeer.

The Emperor stepped forwards, shaking his head, sadly. "Looks like no one remembers you, anymore," he said. "Sorry."

A throat cleared, at the far end of the room. The Emperor looked up, to reveal a security guard at the entrance to the throne room, bowing respectfully.

"The two ladies who saved your life have been made ready for an audience with your majesty," said the guard. "As you requested."

The Emperor's face lit up into a dazzling grin. "Excellent! A far better use of my time." He gestured at the security guards, restraining the assassin. "Take him to the dungeons, and lock him up in the deepest, darkest cell. Alone."

The man struggled as he was led away, and the two young ladies were led in. Both now attired in splendid-looking dresses, with all the jewelry and finery that two such heroes of the realm deserved.

"I'll resist you, Adam!" shouted the assassin, over his shoulder. "I know who I am! You can't make me forget forever!"

Then the far door slammed shut, and his muffled pleas were cut short.

"You're the Emperor _Adam_?" asked the blond girl. She grinned, and then snapped her fingers.

Nothing happened.

"Oh," said the girl, her grin falling. "Dad told me I should always click my fingers whenever I met anyone named Adam." She tilted her head. "Or… turn him into a fruit fly. I can never remember which."

The aunt, not much older-looking than the girl, elbowed the girl in the side, muttered something at her, and then bowed. The girl bowed, as well, although a little more hastily and impatiently.

"I wanted to thank you," said the Grand Emperor Adam, "for saving my life. For helping me preserve this golden age. For—"

"Who was the assassin?" asked the blond girl. Curious brown eyes fixed on the far door. "And why did he want to kill you?"

The Emperor paused a moment. Analyzing her, carefully. This blond girl was pretty, yes, but it was more than that. She was strong. Clever. Brave and determined. Able to twist a situation to her own advantage.

An interesting mind.

He could use someone like that.

He gestured at the guards to bring the girl forwards, away from her aunt. The aunt tried to follow, of course, but was held back. Clenched her hands into fists, then shot Adam a look that dared him to mess with her niece.

The aunt was quite pretty, too, actually.

"The assassin is mentally unstable, I believe," said the Emperor. "But that's not important. You are—"

"Really?" the girl cut in. "Just your average nutcase off the street? Bit odd. After all, he seemed to know you quite well. And you seemed perfectly familiar around him." She reflected. "And… it's interesting, see. Because you have all these titles and honors and whatnot, declaring the wars you've fought in and the victories you've won, but… you don't look like the warrior type." She gestured at the door. "He does."

"Seo!" the aunt hissed, in warning, as she noticed the security guards drawing out their weapons.

The Emperor held up a hand to stay his security forces. Stepped down, closer to the clever girl — Seo, her aunt had said. Interested.

"Go on," he told her.

"Well, if you ask me," Seo replied, "I'd say he's the one who's _supposed_ to be the Grand Emperor. Your… brother, probably. The proper successor, and the one who actually won those wars and fought those battles. But you've usurped the throne in his place." She beamed. "That's why you don't want to kill him!"

The Emperor laughed, strolling down towards her. "He's not my brother."

Seo's face fell. "Oh."

"Just someone I've needed for a very long time," said the Emperor. He reached over to her, put a hand on her shoulder. "Someone I hope I won't be needing for very much longer."

Seo blinked, her eyes looking up at him. "What…?"

He squeezed her shoulder.

And Seo screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn raced forwards the moment Seo screamed. Dove out of the guards' grips and darted towards Seo, yanking her away from this Emperor whatever, who'd… done…

Okay, Dawn didn't know what he'd done, but… he had to have done something, right?

The Emperor seemed a little surprised, as well, as he stared down at her. His face settling into a pensive frown, his hand dropping down by his side.

Seo writhed in Dawn's grip, her hands over her eyes.

"Too much!" Seo shouted. She curled up, the heels of her palms digging into her eyes. "Too much, too much, too much! Take it away! I can't see! I can't…!"

"What the hell did you do to her?" Dawn shouted at the Emperor.

The Emperor was impassive. Just studying Seo with an academic curiosity. "I don't know," he admitted. "Never seen a reaction like that, before."

"Too much," Seo said. She thrashed around, reaching out blindly. "Aunt Dawn? Aunt Dawn! Don't leave me! Or are you gone? Did you ever arrive? Where are we? What's happening? I can't see, Aunt Dawn! I can't see backwards or forwards, I can't see now! It's too bright!"

Dawn grabbed her up, turning Seo towards her. Placing Seo's hands on her face, so she could feel that it really was her. "I'm right here. It's okay. Can't you feel?"

"No!" said Seo, frantically trying to pat at Dawn's face, scrambling for something. "I don't know what's happening. I don't know what happened! I don't… I can't… it's too much! Help me, Aunt Dawn. Please, help me!"

There was a sudden flash of white light through Dawn, and she blinked, trying to regain her thoughts. If that was… some… psychic… something that Seo was giving off, showing what she was seeing… no wonder she was freaked.

"Don't leave me alone," Seo pleaded. "Don't leave me here! I'm so scared."

The Emperor stepped forwards, again. "Oh," he mused. "I think I see." He chuckled, under his breath. "Interesting."

Dawn wrapped Seo up in her arms, protectively. Shooting the Emperor an evil glare. "You better undo this," she demanded. "Or I'm going to bring you a whole world of pain!"

"My dear… Dawn, wasn't it?" said the Emperor, leaning down before her. "Of course I'll heal her. Whatever inner turmoil has caused her to feel this, my physicians will heal her." He placed a supportive hand on Dawn's arm. "I am your Emperor. So trust me, the way you always have."

Another flash flooded through Dawn's mind, and the Emperor jumped back, crying out, his hands clutching his head. He stared at Dawn in utter horror, then swayed on his feet, and nearly toppled over.

The guards, in unison, all surged forwards to grab him up and steady him.

Leaving Dawn and Seo completely unguarded.

Okay, whatever, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Dawn yanked Seo to her feet, and began to race out the room. Seo stumbling behind her, reaching out with her free hand as if to feel for something, occasionally shrieking and ducking and dodging things that weren't there, once even punching out at the air, in desperation.

From the throne room, Dawn could hear the Emperor's voice, saying, "That woman Dawn is a traitor to the empire, and should be executed immediately. Her niece imprisoned and re-educated. Now get them!"

Which was when the gunfire started.

Dawn struggling to outrun the guards, wishing she actually remembered how they'd gotten into this palace, so she wasn't stuck running around in circles, and…

Seo skittered aside, as if to avoid something invisible.

Then crashed into a mounted suit of armor, her hand yanked from Dawn's, as she fell to the ground. Dawn spun around, but was then grabbed up, herself, and dragged away — not by the guards, but by a group she'd never seen before — kicking and fighting and struggling to get back to Seo.

"No!" Seo cried out. "I won't be your weapon! I won't serve you! I won't! I won't! I won't!"

Dawn fought as hard as she could to get back to Seo, help her. But she wasn't Buffy. Had no super strength. No ability to get away.

As Dawn wound up being dragged forcibly away from the palace. Screaming for the niece she was leaving behind.

* * *

"Rescue?!" Dawn shouted at the group that had taken her away from the palace. "You _rescued_ me? That wasn't a rescue! That was a kidnapping!" She felt her anger grow. "You made me leave my niece behind, you bastards! Right when she needed me! You…!"

"And if you'd gone back for her," said one of the crowd, "you'd have been killed."

"Your niece is fine," another assured Dawn. "The Imposter wants her alive. She will be imprisoned, but no harm will come to her."

"Fine?!" Dawn cried. She tried to struggle free from these crazy guys, if only just to race back to the palace and try to help Seo, but they were good at herding her and making sure she couldn't get away. "If that's your definition of fine, then you must be using the dictionary for psychopaths!"

Dawn was dragged through a secret passageway, and down into a tunnel. Set down on the ground, as the group parted. And a guard Dawn had seen, before, in the throne room, emerged from between the people. Stepped before Dawn, his eyes stern as he appraised her.

"Yes, this is the one," he confirmed. "The only one immune to the Imposter's tricks. And the only one I've ever seen whose mind burned him."

"Whose mind… huh?" said Dawn. "What are you talking about?"

"I am General Crathdor," he introduced. "A spy for the resistance, and a believer of the True Emperor, Reztogar."

Oh. So Seo was right. There was a whole usurper thing going on.

"So… what?" said Dawn. "Adam's, like, from a rival noble family, or something, and stepped in and took all the glory for—"

"There is no such person as Adam," said one of the crowd. "He's a fiction, generated in the minds of our most influential people. He is an alien creature who alters memory."

Dawn felt a chill run through her. "What?"


	4. Chapter 4

The Emperor went down into his dungeon, to meet with his prisoner. The pretty young Seo, whose mind he'd so thoroughly broken.

She had been chained up, once, but had long since torn through the restraints. She was now just huddled in a corner, hands on her head, eyes squeezed shut.

"So," the Emperor Adam mused. Strolling forwards, squatting down in front of her. "You're not like anything I've encountered, before."

Seo squinted. "Mom?" she whispered. "Mom, is that you?" She held out her hand, groping blindly. "Alison?"

"What are you?" asked Adam. Grabbed her up by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. Forcing her mind to focus on him. "What are you?"

"I'm nothing," said Seo. "And everything. A cross between too many species, and none of them want me. I'm… I'm…" She hesitated, and Adam pressed harder against her mind. "I'm the Key."

That information didn't help. At all.

"How do you remember things?" Adam asked her. "Not the same way everyone else remembers things. That much is obvious."

Seo yanked herself out of his grip, scuttling away. Then curled up, tighter, into herself. "I have too many things inside my head," she whispered. Rocked back and forth. "Where am I? Where's everyone else? Why am I alone?" She hesitated. "Or… am I even alone?"

"I thought, at first, that you remembered things backwards," said Adam. "Were able to remember the future as well as the past. But now… I'm starting to think you _can't_ see the future. No. That's not it at all." He stared at her, fascinated. "You remember things that never actually happened, don't you?"

"I don't know what's real," Seo whispered.

"That's how your memory works," said Adam. "How your mind works. You see and remember what _must_ happen, what _can_ happen, and what _should never_ happen. You remember and see and recall every possibility and probability of time all strung out, inside your mind. And then your mind weighs each event according to its probability, to figure out what's real."

"Too many paths," said Seo. "Can't see what's real. Can't see what's impossible. Can't work it out!"

"Which means, of course," said Adam, "that when I tried to implant my alternate memories inside your mind, your brain tried to reject the memories — file them away as impossible. A memory of something that couldn't possibly occur." He smiled. "I remember that. Feeling that resistance, when I tried to alter your mind. I had to press down so hard to get you to accept it."

"My brain shattered like glass," Seo muttered.

"Well… just the part of your brain that allows you to differentiate what's possible and what isn't," said Adam. "What really happened, and what never did. I only did it to your memory, but… it seems to have permeated across past, present, and future. Interesting."

"Dad?" Seo asked. Looking around herself. "Dad, is that you? Am I trapped, again?"

"You're fighting specters," said Adam. "Possibilities. Probabilities. Impossibilities. And they're all just as real to you as what you can see before you." He crossed his arms, came over, closer to her. "So what are you, Seo? Really?"

"I… I'm… Help me," Seo pleaded, shaking. Grasping out, reaching blindly for anyone around her. "Help me! I can't see, and I'm scared. So scared."

The Emperor Adam caught her by the arms, and shushed her. "It's okay," he said. "A mind as remarkable as yours, a mystery as incredible as you… I'll find some way to put you back together, again."

And he'd put her back together… based on his own design. Of course.

Seo looked right into his eyes. "Take it away, Aunt Dawn," Seo pleaded. "I can't see. There's too much. Please, take it away."

He reached forwards, grabbing her up by the shoulders. "Well," he decided, "I can't refuse a lady."

And he wiped her mind.

* * *

Adam opened the door to Seo's cell, stepped out. Nodded at the security guards. "Throw her in with the assassin," he commanded. Then walked off, a small smile on his lips.

He had a fresh pallet to start with. A clever mind, cleared of everything he didn't want.

It would be easier to vilify Reztogar, in her mind, if she already knew him.

* * *

"Adam," growled General Crathdor, throwing down a newspaper with Adam's face across the front.

"He just… showed up, one day," said a woman — Matilda Hurgotho. "We didn't know who he was. But he was drawn to the Emperor. Something about… interesting memories." She shrugged. "We thought he was a personal friend of the family, back then. Seemed to know all the right politicians and shake all the right hands."

Dawn nodded, slowly.

"Next thing we knew," said General Crathdor, "everyone had begun thinking Adam should be Emperor, instead of Reztogar. There was a coup, Reztogar was dethroned… and then… we forgot Reztogar. Completely."

"All the history books were burned and rewritten," said another man — Vordonth Pon. "All digital documents altered, all the hard copies classified. Anyone who remembered things differently was arrested, interrogated by Adam, then released. In doing so, Adam managed to usurp Reztogar's throne, his reputation, and his history, causing any evidence that it had been different to be destroyed."

"Even Reztogar forgot," said General Crathdor. "Was released as a civilian, forced to praise and admire the man who'd stolen his life."

"So how do you guys remember?" asked Dawn.

"Because of me," said Matilda. She leaned back, against the wall. "I'm a librarian. I hid books about the old order away, in this secret hideout. Managed to convince enough others, in secret, about what Adam was doing. I eventually got General Crathdor on my side. And with General Crathdor, it was only a matter of time before we managed to track down Reztogar, and make him remember."

"We've tracked down and restored Reztogar's memories to him many times, now," said General Crathdor. "But he is always caught and dragged back for another memory wipe. And always, when he is released, he is transformed in another horrible way. It's how Adam punishes his adversaries — by implanting bad memories, memories of murdering and killing innocents and enjoying it."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" said Dawn. She slammed down a frustrated fist on the newspaper. "I mean, it's not like I could wish him gone or anything!"

"Your mind burned his, when he tried to rewrite your memories," said General Crathdor. "There has to be something you can—"

"General Crathdor," Vordonth cut in, grabbing up the newspaper in his hands. "Look." He showed it to the others.

Everyone blinked.

Then stared.

The newspaper had changed. Any mention of Adam erased, as if he'd never existed at all. Any article with him in it now just blank and empty.

"She… wished him gone and touched the newspaper," Matilda breathed. "And he vanished from the newspaper."

Dawn looked down at her own hands. "Matter transmutation," she said. Her eyes lit up. "No, wait, that's it! Oh, my God! It makes sense, now!"

They all looked at her, hoping for an explanation.

"Adam's this creature that alters memories, right?" said Dawn. "But I'm _made from_ altered memories. In a way that not even Seo is. If you travel back in time, I'm not even there! It's all just matter transmutation and memory alteration that created me." She grinned. "That's what's going on! When Adam tried to alter my memories, he must have awakened the magic that created me! He gave me the power to undo whatever he's doing!"

"I don't understand," said Matilda.

"Neither do I," said Vordonth. "Magic… that created you?"

Dawn sighed. Then buckled down to doing some hard-core explaining-type things.


	5. Chapter 5

When the girl was first thrown into his cell, Reztogar assumed this was another way in which Adam would torment him.

"Are you planning to make me a murderer?" Reztogar demanded. "Alter my memories so I'll believe I enjoy killing young girls, now?"

"Perhaps," said Adam.

But he was clearly busy thinking up some other scheme, somewhere else, because he just left Reztogar and the girl alone, together. Without messing with Reztogar's mind at all.

Reztogar watched as the girl shuddered, then retreated from him. Plastering herself against the far wall, shivering as if from the cold, rubbing her arms and gritting her teeth.

It was the girl who'd stopped his assassination attempt, earlier.

"Relax," said Reztogar. "I will not harm you. I do not blame you for your ignorance."

The girl didn't answer.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The girl froze. Her eyes growing wider and wider.

"I… I don't know," she whispered. Turned to him, her face filled with terror. "Why don't I know? I don't know my name! I don't know who I am!"

The poor girl. A mind driven mad with Adam's insane tricks. Perhaps he'd just wiped her memory entirely.

"Calm down," Reztogar urged her. "Do not panic. I have had the same thing happen to me."

The girl stared at him. A little calmer. "You… have?"

Reztogar nodded. "And I recovered," he said. "Have regained my mind and my identity and my memories so many times. You can, too. If you try."

"How?"

Reztogar gave her a kind smile. "Be still. Allow your mind to clear. And then think deep down, into the darkest depths of your memory. Feel out, with your heart, what is real and what is a lie. Understand who you are in your soul."

It was how he'd managed to bring back his own true memories after Adam had meddled with his mind. How he'd managed to recall the truth.

The girl quieted. Sat up, on the ground, her back straight, her eyes closed, breathing steadily. Her whole body relaxing, as she focused on her own mind. Turned her thoughts inwards.

"Adam," she muttered. Her brow creased. "I remember… the Emperor Adam. He is so important. He is…"

"Dig deeper," Reztogar urged her. "Past Adam. Past whatever he's put inside your mind. Dig to the core of who you really are."

The girl's brow creased even more, as she focused as hard as she could. Her entire face plunged into intense thought.

"Home," she said, at long last. "My… my home. Where my family is. I love my home." A small smile trailed up her lips. "I want to go home. I think… I want it more than anything else."

"We all want to go home," said Reztogar. His smile grew. "Where is your home?"

"I don't know," the girl admitted. She focused, even harder. "But I need to go home. It's the most important thing. More important than the survival of the entire universe! I have to get home, and to do that… I need… to find the Key…"

The girl froze.

Going completely rigid, for a full minute, as if she'd just been struck by something too powerful for words.

"No," the girl breathed. Her eyes popped open, and she laughed. "No, that's not who I am. I don't care about the Key. Not at all!"

There was something… different about her, now, though. Something that put Reztogar on edge. A sort of insane gleam in her eyes, a coldness about her body, an air of uncaring flooding through her.

"I'm not someone who wants to go home," said the girl. A twisted smile creeping across her face. "Oh, no. I was created for a purpose. Created to kill." She advanced towards Reztogar, eyes flashing. "I'm the End of All. The Coming of Darkness."

"No!" said Reztogar. "This isn't you. This is what Adam's made you believe you are. I've seen him do it, before. He makes people believe they're murderers, that they deserve to be locked up, that…"

But Reztogar was cut off by the girl, who grabbed him by the throat, squeezing hard. Her eyes on his. "I'm supposed to kill someone," she said. "That's my purpose. The most fundamental thing inside of me." She tilted her head, thinking a long moment. "I just can't remember who. But I'll work it out. Just kill everyone until I think I've gotten it right."

Reztogar tried to struggle and release himself, but he was chained far too tightly to get free. He, the great warrior, dying at the hands of a young girl!

The girl blinked.

Then shuddered backwards, letting him go.

"No…" the girl looked around herself. Suddenly looking terrified. "No. No, that's not _me_! I'm not…" She stared at her own hands. Shaking. Then glanced back up at Reztogar. "I need to find the Key! I need to go home! _That's_ who I really am. I'm someone who needs to find the Key so I can go home!"

Reztogar looked on the girl with sad eyes. Who had she been, once, back before Adam had destroyed her mind? What had he turned her into?

Another innocent victim, from his empire, sacrificed and destroyed by that monster who'd usurped the throne.

"I'm sorry," the girl begged him, bolting for the exit. "I have to go! I have to find the Key!"

He expected her to yank and tear and claw at the locked iron door, but… to his surprise… she simply tore it off its hinges, and then raced off.

A horrible feeling crawled through Reztogar's heart. As he wondered… if she'd ever really been an innocent victim. And, even if she was, whether it would be wiser to simply kill her, now, before she began the massacre she'd been discussing.

* * *

"And you really think you can use this... Key magic... to defeat Adam?" asked Vordonth, leaning to peer over Dawn's shoulder.

Dawn grinned back at him. "Better find out."

And performed a test run.

* * *

Adam felt it like a pang inside of him. A deep pang, bleeding through his entire existence. Someone was erasing him. Someone was tearing him apart.

He already knew who it was.

"That… that woman," Adam told his guards. "Dawn. The aunt who came in with her niece. Find her. Track her down, wherever she might be. And kill her!"

The guards all marched off to do his bidding.

In the meantime, Adam needed a secret weapon. A way to stay alive, and a mind and body clever and capable enough to cut down anyone it came across.

He raced down into the dungeons.

And stared, in horror.

Seo was gone.

* * *

She didn't know who she was, as she wandered down the street, wild and frantic and desperate. She couldn't remember anything. Couldn't remember where this was or why she was here or why time was so blinding and all the possibilities kept crashing into one another.

But she could feel something inside of her.

Something terrifying.

A killer.

"No!" she told herself. "That's not who I am!"

She wasn't a murderer! She didn't want to kill people or hurt children or anything like that. She didn't want to be the End of All.

"I just want to find the Key," she said. "Find the Key and go home. Even if that means destroying the universe! I just have to… find… the…"

Then she doubled up, and screamed.

Feeling something wrenched from her, some great power torn out of herself, leaving her trembling on her hands and knees, on the ground. Others trying to pick her up, help her, find out what was wrong.

She looked up at them. Studying them all.

Then stood up, on her own. Standing proud and tall before them. She knew who she was. Stuff the Key.

She was Death. The End of All. The Coming of Darkness.

She surveyed those around her. And descended on her prey.

* * *

Dawn knew that to save Seo, she had to get rid of Adam. Get rid of him, undo whatever he'd done to her mind, make him powerless and defenseless, and then…

Then everything Adam had done to Seo's head would be fixed. Seo would be all better, again.

Oh, God, this had better work!

And so Dawn began to use this magical energy inside of her. Began to reshape and resculpt the world around her. Changing books, items, possessions — changing records, changing words, changing everything. Changing the memories inside people's heads…

Dawn could hear chaos on the streets, outside. Tons of people were running away — running for their lives. All scared to death.

"Apparently, a few streets over, this person just collapsed for no reason," said Matilda. "Then got up and started trying to kill everyone."

Good thing Seo was still under lock and key in the palace. If Seo had been out and wandering around when some psychopath had been released into the city…

Okay, don't think about that.

Seo's still alive. She's going to be fine. Dawn just had to buckle down and use the magic. Use this stuff inside of her. Defeat Adam and erase him from the world, completely.

"I'm coming to save you, Seo," Dawn promised.

As she started, again.


	6. Chapter 6

The Emperor Adam heard about the incident in the marketplace. He calmed the bystanders down, then turned the crowd against Dawn, telling them that it was _she_ who'd actually been behind the whole massacre.

That _Dawn_ had been the one to set Seo on them all.

Perhaps... Seo hadn't been quite so lost as he'd suspected, though. After all, according to eye-witnesses, Seo had been completely unstoppable, not listening to anyone or anything, able to disarm and destroy a person faster than you could imagine...

Until Seo had been confronted with a child. And had stopped in her tracks. Frozen, as if in horror. A change had swept over Seo, as if she'd become a different person entirely.

Then Seo had run off, looking scared to death.

The Emperor Adam was interested in this story. He thanked the man who told it to him, and then followed the path Seo was rumored to have taken, when she'd fled.

It took him a while to find her.

But he found her, eventually.

She was curled up, in an alleyway, rocking back and forth with her head in her hands, muttering to herself. Muttering, over and over again, "I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer!"

"Interesting," said Adam. "I didn't even have to implant that into you. And you believe it about yourself."

Seo looked up at him. Her eyes terrified. Her whole body hesitant, clearly recognizing him, but not sure what to believe. Not sure what to see. How to understand.

Adam shushed her, wrapped her up into his arms. "You don't know who you are," he whispered to her. "Let me remind you."

And he flooded her mind with memories of him. Snatched away everything and anything else she had, inside of her, that didn't relate to him. He became her life, her soul, his life so intertwined with hers that she'd never be able to delete him from her mind.

There.

Now, even if Dawn did manage to erase him from the memories of everyone else, around, he'd still exist. He'd exist as long as Seo existed. His very being woven into the deepest parts of her memory.

She looked at him with clearer eyes. "Adam."

Then, in a flash, she'd grabbed him to her and begun kissing him, passionately, as if there were nothing she wanted more. Pulling him towards her with an impossible strength, desperate and filled with desire.

A sharp pain in his abdomen.

Adam pulled away, looking down at himself. At his gut, where Seo had just stabbed him with a knife. Stabbed him while she'd been kissing him.

She looked on at him, impassively. Crossed her arms. "I guess that answers the question, then," she said. "You're the most central element of my life. And that means... _you_ must be the person I was created to kill."

* * *

It took Dawn a little while to get the knack of it.

But every time she did it, she got better at it. The power got stronger. She could change memories with just a thought put in exactly the right way. She could alter the world around her with just the flash of her eyes.

And every time she did it, she understood things. More and more things.

Everything just… became… obvious to her. Connections forming in her head that just linked everything together so perfectly and beautifully, until the whole world and the whole universe fit. Like a jigsaw puzzle.

And it was so clear… how to just alter a little tiny thing… to change the puzzle's shape.

"It's really quite easy to get rid of Adam," Dawn explained, as she began to build the device she'd just thought up, in a moment of pure ingenuity. "See, I'm pretty sure he's not just altering your memories for the fun of it. I think he needs to do this to survive. A creature based entirely on memory. If you don't remember him, he disappears." She grinned. A whole rush of ideas and thoughts and concepts suddenly racing through her. "Yes, and that's why he wasn't just content usurping Reztogar! He had to _become_ Reztogar! Because Reztogar is famous. He's a great big hero with a huge legacy. He's going to be remembered, forever."

"What's the box for?" said Vordonth.

"It's a stasis box," said Dawn, raising it up. "See? I'll use my super-powers to wipe all the records and rewrite all the minds around here, so that Adam never existed in any of them. Then, when there's only one artifact — one little memory of him left — I'll put that in here. And trap him, forever. It'll be brilliant!"

"Why not just destroy the final artifact?" asked General Crathdor. "Kill him completely?"

Dawn opened her mouth to answer.

Then… hesitated.

Why not?

After all, that's what she wanted to do. It's what she should do. In the past, she, Dawn Summers, had always been like that — killing the monsters to save the people. That was who she was.

Why change now? There was no reason to keep Adam alive. He was evil, he had no soul, he was destroying people left and right and implanting bad memories inside their heads and… and…

But there was this sudden revulsion, inside of her, towards killing anything. At all.

Even monsters.

(That hadn't been there before she started using the magic, had it? Where had that come from?)

Dawn gritted her teeth.

"I'll… think about it," she decided.

* * *

Of course, Adam couldn't be killed with mortal weapons. The knife hurt. As did the beating Seo had given him, upon realizing her knife wasn't killing him. And all the other assaults she'd tried to use on him.

But Seo wasn't what was killing him.

Adam could feel it, every time Dawn used her powers. Every time things were rewritten or memories rearranged. Every time that someone else forgot him. Adam could feel.

Could feel it... now!

Surging through him! Sudden, horrible jolt of pain, tearing across his very being! He cried out, doubled up.

From across the alley, Seo cried out, too. Collapsed to the ground, her face paling, her eyes growing less and less focused.

She shook.

Adam staggered to his feet. Studying the crippled Seo. Now… that was interesting. Very, very interesting.

"You're not like me," Adam said. "But when your aunt erases me… you react. So. What are you?"

Seo shot her head up. Her lower lip trembling. "I… I won't be a killer," she insisted. "I won't do it. I won't. I won't! I won't! You can take away everything I am, everything I know, but _I_ _won't kill Martha Jones_!"

Interesting, again.

"Who's Martha Jones?" asked Adam.

Seo didn't answer. She jumped to her feet, grabbing Adam by the shoulders, now frantic. "I need to find my Key," she said. "It's this realm. The mortal coil. It's killing me. I need to go home. I need to find the Key!"

"I thought you said you _were_ the…" Adam stopped. His mind suddenly working it all out. "Oh. I've been asking the wrong question, haven't I?"

Seo didn't seem to understand.

"I've been asking you who _you_ are," said Adam. "But I should be asking… who _your aunt_ is." He leaned in, closer. "She _isn't_ actually your aunt, is she? She's something a lot closer to you than that."

"I need to find my Key," Seo insisted. "Please. Help me find the Key."

"In fact, I think she's something close enough," Adam continued, "that, in a moment of unshielded psychic contact, she can literally become you. Steal your soul and use it for herself."

"Tell me where it is," Seo said. "Please. Please! I don't want to be a killer. I don't want to go insane! I need to find the Key!"

Adam gave a soft laugh. "Oh, I wonder if she knows," he said. "That by trying to destroy me, the only person she's actually destroying… is _you_."


	7. Chapter 7

A swarm of security guards, armed to the teeth, burst into Reztogar's cell. Men he'd once trusted, men he knew were honest and good, at heart.

His executioners.

Reztogar sighed. "So he's finally decided to do it," he muttered. Looked out at the men he'd once called his friends. Finest men of the empire. "Time to face it, as a man. Just remember… I don't blame you. Any of you. For what you're about to do."

The guards all lowered their weapons.

Then bent down on one knee.

General Crathdor came forwards and unchained Reztogar. "Mighty Emperor," he said, bowing. "Defender of the Seas, Conqueror of Iltoro, Restorer of the Divine Light, ender of the Feltoid Wars. May your memory never be forgotten. Your legacy sung in ages yet to come."

Reztogar blinked.

As something swept over his mind.

He looked around himself. Chained up, in a dungeon. He, the Emperor. Why? Why was he here, instead of in the rest of the palace, looking after the affairs of state?

Reztogar put a hand against his head, trying to think deeply. There had been… someone. Someone else. He couldn't quite remember. Someone…

"The girl," Reztogar realized. His eyes fixed on General Crathdor. "I remember. That insane young girl who was locked up, down here. That terribly powerful, horrendously dangerous girl."

He must have come down here, disguised as a prisoner, in order to talk some sense into her. But she'd nearly struck him down for it. Had come that close to killing him, outright.

Reztogar straightened. Proud and tall, as well he should be. "The small blond with the freckles and the wide brown eyes," he commanded. "Who uses a strength not her own and babbles about the 'Key'. Her mind has been driven into insanity." He felt a horrible ache in his heart, but he'd given her every chance he could. Had even come down here to appeal to her, himself. But she was uncontainable, dangerous, and unredeemable. "We have to find her. And strike her down. Before she has the chance to harm anyone else."

The guards all nodded. Then escorted the Emperor Reztogar out of the dungeons.

"May God forgive me for what I am about to do," Reztogar said, as he gathered up his weapons.

* * *

Dawn had heard the order.

Panicked.

She tried to appeal to Matilda and the General and all the others, but… of course… they didn't remember her, anymore. Didn't remember what she did for them. Or that Adam even existed, in the first place.

So Dawn began to race out, onto the street, desperate to search for the run-away Seo. Desperate to find her, before Reztogar cut her down.

Or…?

Dawn slowed. Stopped. It was easier than that, wasn't it? Dawn could just… stretch her magic that much further. Make everyone forget that Seo had ever shown up, here.

Yes!

Yes, it was so easy! Dawn could feel it — that magic, vibrating at her fingertips, unlocking deep down inside herself. She unleashed it onto the world, letting it zip through the air and spread like an infection. Commanding everyone to… _forget Seo. Forget the orders to kill her. Go back and live your normal lives. Go…_

"Stop it!" shouted a voice.

Dawn started. Spun around, to find… standing behind her… except it couldn't be…

"Martha?" Dawn said. "Martha Jones?"

It looked exactly like her. Except… there was something weird about… the way she was breathing. Something a little off about the way she was standing.

Dawn reached out and touched her. She felt real. Corporeal.

But there was still… something… wrong about her.

"I don't know how much time I have," Martha said. Glanced around herself, scared, as if looking for something. "But you have to stop. Take the stasis box. And find Seo. Please."

"But I'm protecting her!" Dawn insisted. "I'm—!"

Martha spun Dawn around the other way, and shoved her forwards. "The stasis box!" she shouted. "You have to lock him in the stasis box! Remember the box!"

Dawn stumbled, nearly fell, but caught herself. Glanced back over her shoulder.

Martha Jones was gone.

* * *

Dawn didn't know where Seo was. But she searched the whole city, and, not having any other options, arrived back in front of Oliver, for the night.

Adam was waiting for her. Seo lying unconscious in his arms, her breath raspy and her skin far too pale. A desperately scared expression plastered across her face.

Dawn stared at the two of them, in utter horror. Then rushed Adam. "What did you do to her?!"

"You should ask," said Adam, "what _you_ did, 'Aunt Dawn'."

Dawn stopped dead in her tracks. A horrible chill running through her. "What?"

"This," said Adam, raising up Seo, "is courtesy of your latest city-wide memory drain. She screamed. Then she passed out." He laid her down on the ground, gently. "Not sure she'll ever wake up from that."

"I'm not the one putting her into a coma!" Dawn insisted. "I'm trying to save her life! I'm—"

"You're killing her, Dawn," said Adam, getting back to his feet. A small smile on his face. "Haven't you worked it out, yet? Why you can suddenly do this? Why you seem to have twice the energy you ever used to, and where the extra is actually coming from? Why, every time you tap into it…" He glanced back at Seo. "…she dies just a little bit more?"

An icy chill ran through Dawn. As she realized… the sudden ability to think at a billion times the speed she had, before… the ability to understand dimensions and the universe and time and everything… the sudden surge in Key energies, which made her able to control and manipulate the world…

That wasn't just coming from Dawn. Half of it had been stolen… from…

Oh, no.

"There we go," said Adam. "Now she's starting to understand."

"Oh, my God," Dawn whispered. "I… I didn't know! I've been sucking out her soul, and I had no idea…!" She turned to Adam, suddenly feeling desperate. "How do I give it back?"

"But you don't want to give it back," said Adam.

Dawn stared at him. Frozen in place.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dawn shouted. Darted forwards, towards Seo's limp body. "Of course I want to…!"

Adam stopped her before she got there. "You _really_ don't want to wake her up."

Something about the way he said it made Dawn… hesitate.

"The Seo you knew is gone," Adam said. He stepped back, crossed his arms. "All that's left in that body is a madwoman. Containing two separate personalities, each vying for dominance. One personality wants to find the Key and destroy the universe so she can go home. And the other one just wants to kill everyone in sight."

"Oh, God," Dawn muttered. A numbness sweeping through her. "She's actually dead. I've actually…!"

"But she's still alive," Adam insisted. "In you. You _are_ her, now." He stepped towards Dawn. "And don't you think you deserve it more than she does?"

Dawn didn't answer.

"You and me," said Adam, "we're both made from implanted memories. It's the very nature of our existence. That's why I can't alter your mind, and you can't alter mine."

Dawn's eyes shifted back to Adam.

"It's all we both really want, in the end," said Adam. "To be remembered. But, turns out, at the end of the day?" He glanced over his shoulder at Seo. " _She's_ the one with the godlike powers. The one with the time machine. When she grows up, _she'll_ be remembered. And the two of us… will be forgotten. Forever."

Dawn bit her lower lip.

"You didn't mean to do this to her," Adam said. "I know it. You know it. No one's blaming you — and if you'd known, you would have stopped. But you've done it, now." He shrugged. "Shouldn't you make the most of it?"

"You… want me… to leave her like that," said Dawn. "Leave her…"

"I'm saying you should honor her memory," said Adam. "Just like I want to honor her memory. Think about it, Dawn! You and me, able to alter memories, able to change the world with just a thought! Both racing through the stars, putting wrongs to right, helping people and civilizations. Together, we'd be unstoppable. Able to spread a legacy throughout the universe that'll never be forgotten!"

"I… don't…"

"Imagine being the hero in the spotlight, for once!" said Adam. "The one they carve giant statues of. The one everyone envies. The one everyone else looks up to and admires." He raised his eyebrows at her, leaning in closer. "Don't you want that?"

Dawn did.

Had wanted it ever since she was a kid, and Buffy was the Slayer while she was just the little sister who stayed behind and did nothing. Had wanted to be the one who managed to fight off the alien baddies and could come up with the brilliant strategy and could fly through the universe because she was just that smart.

She'd been Seo for a day. And she'd loved it.

And why shouldn't she be Seo forever? What right did Seo have to hog all the super-powerness for herself? Why was Seo better than Dawn, to possess…

But then Dawn looked over at Seo.

Her niece.

And Dawn loved her.

"Yeah," Dawn told Adam. "Yeah, it'd be nice to be the one in the spotlight, instead of the one cheering her on from the sidelines. But… you know what?" She grinned. "I'm gonna be her greatest cheerleader, someday."

Then pushed past him. Surging out to grab Seo up, in her arms, wrapping her into a desperate embrace. Wishing and hoping and praying that the energy she'd stolen would go back.

But Seo's skin remained cold. Her body remained completely unresponsive. Her pulse still felt weak and fluttery.

Dawn shook her. "Seo," she said. "Wake up. Please. Wake up."

"You can't wake her up!" shouted Adam, trying to pull Dawn away.

But Dawn was having none of it. Wouldn't let Seo go.

Adam fumed. "Don't you understand? She's gone mad! She keeps going on and on about…!"

"The Key…" Seo muttered, in her sleep. "I need to go home! Lost my Key. Need to go home. I need…" She shifted, reaching out to Dawn. "Please. Where is it? What is it? Who is it? My Key?"

Oh.

And it made sense, suddenly.

"It's you," said Dawn. Clutching Seo by the hand, tightly. " _You're_ the Key, Seo. Don't you get it? That's what you're looking for. Yourself."

Seo's eyes opened, just a hair. "Myself," she repeated.

"Yes," said Dawn. "And I took that away from you. Drained your Key energies — and with it… your soul." She swallowed, hard. Squeezing Seo's hand in hers. "So take it back. Take it all. Take the Key from me. And go home."

Which was when Dawn felt something deep down inside of her — that magic that had been used to create her, which had absorbed and stolen the magic used to create Seo — bubbling to the surface, swirling around and between the two of them and then hurtling inside Seo.

And Seo was pulling at it. Tearing at it with desperation, wanting it all for herself — and Dawn let her, because maybe Seo deserved it more than her, after all — she, the stupid, jealous aunt who'd nearly… nearly killed…

Dawn shivered. Suddenly freezing cold. She… she was… draining…

Draining…

Everything… was draining… everything about her…

The world and her mind and her very being growing… so dark… so cold and…

Then someone caught her. A burst of warmth and happiness, lifting her up from the crevice. Dawn looked up, and caught sparkling brown eyes.

"I'm not going home," Seo promised, "unless you get there, too."

And Dawn sighed, letting herself drift into dreams. Knowing… she'd done the right thing.


	8. Chapter 8

Adam watched as Dawn slumped down into unconsciousness. As Seo emerged, having used the sum total of their energies to fully heal herself, then having given back what she didn't need. As she stood up tall and straight, to face Adam. Dawn's stasis box in her hands.

"You can't kill me," said Adam. He pointed at Dawn. "She still remembers. You still remember! And while the two of you remember, there's no way I can die."

"I don't want to kill you," said Seo.

Adam paused. "You… don't?"

Seo raised up the box. "I'm placing Dawn's last few memories of you," she said, "inside this box. Oh, she'll remember that she fought against a memory-altering entity. But anything specific… anything that gives you form… goes in here." She quirked an eyebrow. "You can go float around in the void for a little bit, Adam."

"What?" shouted Adam. "You can't banish me to the darkness! You can't…!"

"Why not?" said Seo. Meeting his eyes with hers. "Is it any worse than what you tried to convince Aunt Dawn to do to me?"

Then turned back to Dawn.

And sucked the last few tendrils of Adam out of her.

Adam felt desperate. Felt himself falling away. But… no! He had a card up his sleeve. His last hope. "It won't work!" Adam insisted. He laughed. "I was too clever for you. I implanted myself deep inside your mind, when you were imprisoned. You'll always remember me, Seo! You can't ever forget."

Seo turned to him. Box in her hands.

"But that's not how my memory works," she said. "I remember things that never happened. And people who never really existed, in the first place." Winked. "And you… never existed. Zero probability."

And closed the lid.

* * *

For a long time, flying inside Oliver through space and time, neither Dawn nor Seo said anything. Neither even wanting to look at the other one.

"Did you like it?" Seo asked, at last. "Being… me?"

Dawn cringed. What could she say to that? She'd loved it. Had wanted to be like that forever. Wanted to have answers instantly at her fingertips, be able to juggle around all the stuff she knew and had learned fighting monsters her whole life, and apply it to physics and chemistry and the laws of the universe. Wanted to have all that extra energy hiding beneath the surface, just ready and waiting to use, if she ever…

Dawn looked back up at Seo. "I like you being you more."

Seo looked away.

For a few long moments, neither said anything.

"I was trying to switch places with you," Seo admitted. "That… was why it happened."

Dawn froze. "Wait, you were what?"

"I was trying to switch places with you," Seo said. Trying to look busy on the far side of the console, so she wouldn't have to look up. "Turn you into me. And me into you. I couldn't help it. In that moment, I had too much. I didn't want to… I couldn't handle…" She shook her head. "I must have… mucked up the transference. And instead, merged our Key energies inside of you, thus giving you the ability to drain my soul completely." She took a sharp breath. "I'm sorry."

Dawn stared at Seo. Open jawed. "You wanted to be _me_?" she cried. "Like, you! The person who's going to be remembered and praised and wonderfulized forever! Wanted to be a boring, totally normal human being, like me?" She shook her head. "Why?!"

Seo's eyes drifted into the distance. A horrible expression creeping up her face. A lost, lonely, miserable emptiness springing up, deep down inside of her.

"Because I _am_ a hundred and one years old," she whispered.

And never explained what she meant.


End file.
